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deep into the stone, that the reading of some parts of them is not only difficult, but
impossible. It must also be considered that because of the stockpiling of the items and their
size it is not possible to move them and place the written surfaces under a certain light
angle that could make the reading easier. We do not need to despair, however, and I am
sure that I will be able to improve substantially the first apographs I got with further,
following attempts. But more time is required. I can be sure, right now, that these are long
inscriptions of the Luna quarries, with names of [consuls] and employees of the quarries
themselves; the age needs to be placed around A.D. 200. Eventually, remarkable fragments
of the planking of the shipwreck were discovered.
During my visit to Croton I had to deal not only with the preliminary analysis of
this material, but also with other issues. I would like to inform Your Excellency of the
conclusions I have reached.
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a) The behavior of the Forcellini Company has been extremely appropriate. They
alerted the Royal Prefecture of the discoveries (they were working at sea, at a
distance of ca. 12 km from the city), and the Prefecture immediately got in touch
with me, who ordered to stop the works. But for two days the works went on, and it
was a good thing.
b) The Forcellini Company asks for a compensation worth of one quarter of the value
of the discovered items. However, I would deny such a claim, [because] they were
working under a government contract, in which must always be included the clause
of the accidental discoveries, whose results must be given to the government
without further compensation. I would like to know Y.E. point of view on this
matter, in order to address myself accordingly.
c) The Forcellini Company showed me a summary bill of 4,300 Lira for the work of
raising, carrying, and unloading these items (three working days). I asked for a
detailed summary of expenditures that I will transmit shortly and, maybe with some
reductions, it will be appropriate to pay.
d) I propose that the marble items remain in Croton, given in deposit to the local Civic
Museum, which will place a few of them in its rooms, and the remaining in special
flowerbeds of the public garden. But just to move them from the very distant dock
and yard to the final location several hundred Lira are required. It is not even
possible to think to the boulder weighing 30 tons, whose transportation over land is
an issue.
e) When time will be appropriate, a few good samples of the smaller labra and of the
pedestals might be moved to the National Museum of Rhegium.
f) The Forcellini Company yearns for the honor to proceed with the total and through
exploration and exploitation of the underwater deposit of marbles, that has an
extension of ca. 150 x 70 m, and where the helmet-diver says is still located a huge
block. According to a first estimate I did with Eng. Forcellini, the cost should be
around 35,000 Lira, since a new air-lifting digging machine is required in order to
remove all of the sand covering the marbles, which has a [thickness] of 2 or 3 m. In
order to make Y.E. able to decide, and to write as appropriate a special, little law, I
decided that the firm will present a detailed operative plan.